9/11: Americans Remember Attacks on 11th Anniversary (PHOTOS)

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Americans are marking the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on Tuesday with solemn ceremonies and a mindset to never forget the tragedy.

(Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar)Judy Parisio places an American flag in a plaque of names of the victims of the September 11 attacks at North Pool of the 9/11 Memorial during ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2012.(Photo: REUTERS/Craig Ruttle)Amelia Tedesco of Staten Island, New York, touches the inscribed name of her son-in-law Walter Baran, also of Staten Island, during ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2012. Baran was killed on the 90th floor of the south tower during the attacks.(Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar)Two women embrace at the edge of the North Pool of the 9/11 Memorial during ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2012. One World Trade Center is at back.(Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)People walk by the World Trade Center site before ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center at Ground Zero in New York September 11, 2012.(Photo: REUTERS/Craig Ruttle)Joe Torres of Sayreville, N.J., a fire captain from Elizabeth, N.J., kneels as he touches the name of his sister-in-law, Krystine Bordenabe, during ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2012. Bordenabe, 33, was eight months pregnant when she was killed in the South tower. Torres' daughter Lea Torres, 16, is a reader at today's ceremony.(Photo: REUTERS/Jason Reed)U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama observe a moment of silence on the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, September 11, 2012.(Photo: REUTERS/Eric Thayer)A reader breaks down in tears while reading victims' names during ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, in New York, September 11, 2012.(Photo: REUTERS/Justin Lane)Ava Kathleen Schmoelzer, 7, makes a rubbing of her late aunt's name, Kathleen Moran, during ceremonies marking the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2012.(Photo: REUTERS/Omar Sobhani)U.S. troops pray during a ceremony marking the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, in Kabul September 11, 2012.(Photo: REUTERS/Gary Hershorn)One World Trade Center stands tall on the skyline of New York behind the Statue of Liberty in New York, September 10, 2012. New York will mark the 11th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center with ceremonies on Tuesday.

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"It is extremely important that people never forget what happened on Sept. 11," said New York City Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, according to USA Today.

Families of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 2001 attacks are attending memorial services at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pa.

"More than a decade later, the world we live in is forever changed," President Barack Obama stated in his proclamation of Sept. 11, 2012, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. "But as we mark the anniversary of September 11, we remember what remains the same: our character as a Nation, our faith in one another, and our legacy as a country strengthened by service and selflessness."

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released a statement in remembrance of the tragic day, saying it was "evil" that descended upon the United States 11 years ago when terrorists hijacked planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Another was diverted by passengers and crashed into a field near Shanksville.

"On this most somber day, those who would attack us should know that we are united, one nation under God, in our determination to stop them and to stand tall for peace and freedom at home and across the world," said Romney.